SEFTON householders are on a low carbon diet – and successfully cutting the weight of material that is being sent to landfill.

Last year, the amount of waste landfilled fell by almost 50 kilogrammes for each Sefton household.

In the previous year, each local household sent on average 742kg of material to landfill annually – this has now fallen to 693kg, meaning Merseysiders are overall creating less waste.

Meanwhile, Merseyside’s level of recycling is also on the up – hitting 36.5% over the past year – which means the region is sending less material to landfill than ever before.

The new figures have been released by Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority (MWDA) as they published their latest Annual Plan.

Chairperson of MWDA, Councillor Joe DeAsha, said: “Just three years ago, the amount of waste going to landfill per household was 854 kilograms – so we’ve had a drop of 161 kilograms.

“We knew already that the people of Merseyside had taken to recycling, but more importantly we’re seeing a reduction in overall waste created in the first place which is at the very top of our agenda.”

These figures translate as an eight-per cent decrease in the overall amount of household waste going to landfill, with a 37,659 tonnes fall between this year and last.

At a kerbside level, the Bidston Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) – where the districts of Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool and Wirral send their doorstep-collected recyclable material – has seen a small three percent increase of items successfully recycled, up from 86% to 89%.

The Annual Plan also highlights other achievements by MWDA throughout the past year, including a giveaway of over 7000 green/garden waste heavy duty sacks, a £20,000 Community Resource Action Fund and a major public consultation for the future of Merseyside’s waste management.

Carl Beer, Chief Executive of MWDA, said: “We’ve seen positives across all our indicators. Recycling levels continue to rise – landfill use continues to fall, as does waste creation. Our ultimate aim is to make Merseyside a place where nothing is wasted.”